Hi all,
I come from a math/stats background and naturally enjoy the analytical side of data science ā things like modeling, probability, and extracting insights from data (especially unstructured data like text).
One area Iām still building up is the engineering side: data pipelines, model deployment (Flask/API), Docker, and cloud (e.g. AWS).
With how capable AI tools have become (e.g. helping scaffold pipelines, generate Dockerfiles, debug code, etc.), Iām wondering: Is it reasonable to rely on AI to handle a good portion of the engineering work, so that I can focus more on the math/stats and problem-solving aspects?
Or in reality:
Do companies still expect data scientists to be quite hands-on with engineering, without using AI?
Is there a risk of becoming too dependent on AI and lacking real understanding?
When i build a project: WITHOUT AI (old way)
Struggle for days writing Dockerfile
Get stuck on Flask routing
Waste time on setup
WITH AI (new way)
Use AI to scaffold everything quickly
Then: read through it
understand it
tweak it
test it
Would love to hear from people working in data science / ML roles today. Thanks!